God Eater Burst: This Forsaken World
by White Ritz
Summary: *Storyfic* From the point of view of the male!MC, a story of the events of the game with a few twists. While hiding an unrequited love for someone that he knows he should never fall in love with, the male!MC struggles to save the world that they live in.
1. Chapter 1: After Apocalypse

H-hello! After I finally beat God Eater Burst, I was struck with the urge to write some fanfic or something! XD  
>Well...read it, anyways. XD<br>But upon seeing like...four one-chapter stories for it...  
>I felt I had to write something too XD<br>And yes, I don't call it Gods Eater Burst like the localized versions of the game have it XD  
>O-obviously, it was supposed to be God Eater Burst, anyways...!<br>You may find that some of the lines aren't exactly like the localized versions of the script, but that's because I was using the Japanese and English versions of the game to get the meanings from both languages XDD  
>A-anyways XDD<br>The male main character's name is Kaito Date, but the Date is pronounced like Date Masamune's Date! N-not like...dating people "date" XDD -shot-  
>B-but anyways, yeah XDD<br>Please don't get too mad at how puppy-like Kaito is yet!  
>Puppy-breaking (Kaito) is always fun~<br>**Please Read, Review and Enjoy!~**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1:<strong> After Apocalypse

In the desolate landscape of a city in ruins, monsters stalked the streets. Every once in a while, they lumbered a few steps, then stopped to roar into the empty air. Besides these monsters, the city was completely empty, devoid of any other signs of life. Several of them were gathered around the fallen body of a monster that resembled a lion with huge fangs and a red cape, taking turns tearing into the carcass. They let their guard down, believing that their greatest enemy had been taken out already.

Without warning, a huge roar echoed throughout the city as another of the huge lion monsters leapt out over a wall. Before the smaller monsters could react, they had already become the monster's prey, and the lion monster bent down and began to eat the carcass that its prey had been eating, secure once again in its position at the top of the food chain.

However, what the monster didn't suspect was that there were three people hidden behind a wall, watching its actions carefully, seeking the perfect moment to strike. A black-haired man, carrying a huge sword, dressed in what appeared to be a military uniform, nodded at his companions, a young woman with black hair carrying a huge gun and another young man with silver hair that peeked out from under his blue hoodie carrying an even bigger sword.

In a flash, they dashed out from behind their cover and rushed at the monster. Sensing their approach, it turned and gave a roar as they came. However, the battle was already over before it had begun. The monster fell heavily to the ground, giving one last cry before it passed from this world to the next. The man, who appeared to be the leader, lifted up his sword and pointed it at the newly dead body. With a growl and a roar, his sword suddenly grew a misshapen black mouth with teeth and bit into the body, chewing several times before it melted back into the red metal bangle that he wore.

"Hey, it's a rare one!" the black-haired man said excitedly, a smirk creeping onto his face.

"To the victor go the spoils, as they say," the woman replied, walking up, the barrel of her huge gun resting easily on her right shoulder. She gave a little smile.

The man gave a chuckle. "I bet Old Man Sakaki will have a fit over this," he remarked with a wide grin.

The woman gave a knowing nod before she gave a sigh. "Now if they'd only get us some reinforcements..." She turned to leave. "Let's head back. I'm starving." She gave a little smile again. "I wonder what kind of rations they're serving today."

"Huh?" The man gave a chuckle, his sword easily slung over his shoulder. The other young man in the hoodie followed behind them silently, his aloof face never changing expression. "Actually, that came up during the last food supply meeting." The leader gave a frown as he tried to remember what they had talked about then. "Got it! We're having a new type of corn!"

"Whaaat?" A look of disdain crossed the woman's face. "You mean that giant corn-on-the-cob again?" she whined. "But that's so hard to chew!"

"Hey, times are hard," the man replied with a chuckle. "You should be glad you're getting fed at all!"

The woman gave another sigh before she turned to the silent young man, who had been following behind her. "Hey, Soma. I'll trade you! What do you say?" she asked, putting on a bright smile.

"No way." When the young man finally spoke, it was in a cold voice. The woman gave a pout, but before she could say anything else, their leader called out to them.

"Come on, you guys! You wanna be left behind?" he asked with a roguish smirk. He turned to continue walking as the woman jogged a little faster to catch up to him.

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><p>A blonde man sat alone at his desk in a long white jacket in his office. He stared at a screen with faces and data scrolling quickly past with impassive blue-gray eyes. "Director, we've found a possible match for a New-type God Eater in the database." The calm woman's voice reminded him of the importance of his duties as Director.<p>

"I see." He rested his chin on his folded hands, propped up on his desk. "What's his name?" He touched the screen with light fingertips, scrolling through everything and reading it all quickly. "Hm..." His eyes scanned the information on the possible recruit, finding everything satisfactory. "Get him down here to take the aptitude test." He continued to read the information, going over it again and again, checking and double-checking on the new recruit's stats.

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><p>Kaito stepped into the building that he had been looking at for so long from the outside. The shuttered gate closed behind him as he took several more steps into the Den. He looked around with wide steel gray eyes, taking in everything that he could only have thought about from the outside, pulling down the blue and black headphones that he always wore to rest around his neck. Even the simple wooden tiled floor beneath his boots radiated wealth and importance. "So <em><span>this<span>_ is Fenrir..." People sat right in front of the entrance on green leather seats, beer bottles and other things littering the table that made the booth, all wearing the same red metal bangle on their right wrists. He wondered if it was a new fad or some fashion statement that normal people didn't know about.

There were terminals lined up next to the entrance and people lined up in front of them, using them for several different things at once. Kaito brushed some of his silver hair out of his eyes as he glanced around some more. There were stairs that led to a lower level, but he didn't have time to go see what was down there. He had something very important that he needed to do.

He took out the letter he had received and read it again. "Uh...it says...to go to the...testing room..." Kaito looked around and tried to figure out where exactly he had to go. He frowned slightly, still having no idea. "Well...uh..." He gave a sigh and a shrug. "Might as well start somewhere." He headed off in a random direction and hoped he was right.

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><p>Kaito stumbled off the elevator, wondering where he was now. The letter had said that he had to go to the lower level of Fenrir, and he figured that the elevator was his best bet. However, there had been about four other floors for him to try, so he had pressed a random button. And now, he was lost on another floor. He took a few steps, his boots muffled by the extremely thick and luxurious navy blue carpet, which he was sure cost several times more per square inch than what his entire apartment had cost. The carpet led to several rooms, but none of them had any labels or any other sign to tell him what they were. He sighed.<p>

"Man...I always get lost..." He glanced around, but the hallway was still just as empty. Everyone else was probably in the main entrance area. "...I should have asked someone up there..." He sighed again with a slight frown. "W-well...since I'm already down here..." He took a deep breath. "Hello? Anyone down here?" he called out loudly. He winced when his voice echoed in the silent hallway. "...well, that wasn't a good idea..."

He took a few steps and stood in the middle of the hallway, looking around again. It appeared that no one had heard him anyways. He glanced to the left, and then to the right. There were three doors on this floor. "I wonder if I can ask someone in one of these rooms... Maybe they'll have a map or something." He knocked on the door to his right. There was no answer. "Hm...Maybe these things are soundproof..." He glanced around in the empty hallway again. "Well...it wouldn't hurt to take a look around inside anyways..."

Kaito pressed the button to open the door, and it slid open with a quiet hiss. It looked like someone's room. There was a window opposite the door. Well...at least it _looked_ like a window. There was a target in front of it, and it was riddled with what Kaito assumed were bullet-holes. The wall and window were also peppered with bullet-holes. There were weapons lying around in the room, huge swords that Kaito doubted even the strongest guy in the world would be able to lift. Beer cans littered a table that had the same kind of seats that had been upstairs around it. A terminal with a cracked screen sat in the far right corner of the room. He wondered if it still worked. There was a sort of counter to his right as well, between the entrance and a rather messy bed that hadn't been made. Too late, Kaito realized that there was someone on the bed.

"Who the hell are you?" Kaito froze at the cold tone from the person glowering at him from his position on the bed. Icy blue eyes glared at him under silver hair that peeked out from a dark blue hood. The person most definitely didn't seem happy, and Kaito wondered if it had been a good idea at all to try and find his own way in this place.

"I...I'm Kaito!" Kaito replied hurriedly, giving a hasty salute as his body stiffened by reflex at the person's tone of voice. He didn't have much courage, especially in the face of angry people.

"What the hell do you want?" the person asked, sounding most definitely not satisfied by the response.

"I...I got lost trying to find the testing area!" Kaito fought back the urge to add "Sir" to the end of his sentence. He was sure that the guy wouldn't appreciate being called that, especially since he looked around Kaito's age.

"..._you're_ going to be our next recruit?" Now the person's voice sounded incredulous, as if it was so unbelievable that Kaito could ever possibly be part of Fenrir. "...we ask for reinforcements, and _this_ is what we get?" He scoffed. "Looks like I'll have even more work to do now." His attention returned to Kaito, who was still standing there, steel gray eyes darted around nervously. "The testing area is on the same floor as the entrance. Didn't you even take a look down the stairs? There's a sign there that says "Testing Area"." The person shook his head. "I can't believe we got an idiot like this..." He pointed at the door with his right hand, and Kaito noticed the red metal bangle on this guy's arm too. That was strange... Kaito didn't expect that someone like this guy would follow along with fashion statements as well... "Get out."

"Huh?" Kaito was jolted out of his thoughts by the other guy's words.

"Now that you know where to go, get out of my room already." The person repeated himself slowly as if Kaito were a second grader again.

"R-right...sorry..." Kaito gave a hurried bow. "Th-thank you for helping me!"

"Get out!" Kaito ran out of the room hurriedly as the guy grabbed for the hilt of one of his swords. He didn't want to be killed before he even got a chance to join the ranks of Fenrir. But even when he was fearing for his life, Kaito couldn't stop thinking about that guy.

Just who was he...?

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><p>Thanks to the directions from the person from before, Kaito easily found the Testing area. However, because he had taken so long, he had to wait for his turn, which had been passed and dropped to the bottom of the list. He sat, bored and anxious in turns, on the seats that they had provided for them, glancing around. Finally, though, they called his name. "Kaito Date!" The person chuckled a little at Kaito's strange-sounding name. "It's your turn to go in now."<p>

Kaito gave a slight nod, his heart beating quickly. He could feel his body becoming numb, a sign that he was terrified. He willed his legs and hands not to shake as he stepped through the door. Kaito found himself in a huge circular room, lit by one light from far above. There were several people behind a huge pane of frosted glass, no doubt to monitor him while he was in the room. He glanced around at the practically empty room. There was some sort of a machine in the center of the room, a sword resting on a panel that extended out from it. A part of the machine was suspended above the rest of it by four slim metal rods. Kaito wondered what that was for.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting so long," a calm man's voice said. No doubt it was someone important, from the way he was addressing Kaito. Although the tone was rather cold, he could still detect a slight warmth beneath the surface. "Now then, let me welcome you to humankind's last fortress, Fenrir." Of course, Kaito had already been acquainted with a lot of it when he had been lost... "We will now test your compatibility as one of the anti-Aragami punitive force, the God Eaters." He paused, as if to let it sink in. "Please try to relax a little. You'll get better results that way," the voice said, as if it knew how much Kaito's legs and hands were shaking. Kaito closed his steel gray eyes and nodded, his silver hair shifting slightly as he did so. He willed his heart and body to calm down. "When you're ready, go stand in front of that machine in the center of the room." Oh...so that was what that machine was for...

Kaito slowly took several steps forward, taking a deep breath. He glanced at the machine again. Now, it looked so much more menacing. What did he even have to do...? There was a dip in the machine next to the hilt of the sword. Did they expect him to pick up the sword or something...? Taking another deep breath, he hurriedly thrust his hand into the depression where he hoped his arm was supposed to go, wrapping his fingers hurriedly around the hilt of the sword, squeezing his eyes shut in anticipation of whatever would happen next as the rest of his entire body flinched away from the machine.

Nothing happened. "...what...?" Kaito opened one eye slowly, as if he were peeking at a secret. But it was true. Nothing had happened. He opened his other eye. He straightened up, confused. "What?" He stared in confusion at the machine. "That's it?" He gave a shaky laugh. "That...that wasn't so bad..."

Without warning, the part that had been suspended above the machine suddenly slammed down on his hand and wrist. Kaito gave a strangled cry as his entire body jumped and he tried to pull his arm back out of the machine, but to no avail. He gave a scream of pain as, with a squishing sound, something pierced deep into his wrist. He felt something spreading through his body from his wrist, burning and numbing his body as it traveled through his veins. He panted heavily, sweat dripping from his hair as it finally stopped. He stared at the machine still holding his arm captive warily, even though it was now silent. At this point, he half-expected it to tear off his arm or some other thing that would painfully maim him and leave him dead.

But this time, nothing really happened. With a hiss, the machine returned back to its former position, open again for another potential candidate, deceivingly benign. Blinking away the tears of pain that had been blurring his eyes, Kaito tried to lift the sword again. To his surprise, he easily lifted it, nearly falling over backwards with the momentum. He stared at it, and finally realized that there was a red metal bangle attached to his wrist now. So _that_ was what those bangles were for. They hadn't been fashion statements; they had been symbols of their status of God Eater. As he watched, a tendril of some black matter suddenly grew out of a core embedded in the sword's hilt and attached itself to a slot in his bangle. "Wh-what?" He nearly dropped the sword in shock at the sight, but he managed to compose himself before he did.

"Congratulations on being the first of the New-type God Eaters in the Fenrir Far East branch." Kaito nearly jumped again at the sudden voice of the man; he had pretty much forgotten about the people watching him from that room behind the frosted glass. Now he felt a little embarrassed from the way he had reacted to the test. "Now that we know you're a match, you'll be going to a medical check-up next. Don't hesitate to let someone know right away if you start feeling unwell."

"Unwell...?" Kaito gave a slight frown as he stared at the red metal bangle on his wrist, eyebrows furrowed in worry as he stared at it. He wondered what could go wrong with something like this.

"Please rest in the waiting room just outside of that door." Kaito gave a nod as he turned to leave. "I've high hopes for you!" the voice called as Kaito started towards the door. He stopped as he realized he was still holding the sword.

"H-how do I get rid of this thing...?" He stared at it with a frown. As far as he could tell, no one had been walking around Fenrir carrying a sword or anything, so there had to be some way to get it to disappear or something...right? He tried to think about it, but he didn't have any idea what to do. "How do I even get rid of this thing...?" To his surprise, the sword folded itself up and disappeared inside his red bangle. "W-what the-?" Kaito jumped at the sudden disappearance. He glanced around the room and realized he was still in full view of the men watching him behind the frosted glass. "...I think I've made enough of a fool of myself today..." he sighed as he ran a hand through his silver hair. "Please..." he said as he finally left the room.

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><p>Kaito, trying not to embarrass himself again, sat as still as he could on the seat next to a gum-chewing rust brown-haired boy wearing a striped yellow hat. The boy was also wearing a sleeveless yellow vest over a web-patterned black shirt with knee-length shorts that flared out around his legs as he swung them restlessly. A striped scarf was wrapped around his neck, but Kaito was sure it was more of a fashion thing rather than something necessary.<p>

"Hey..." The boy's voice was muffled as he spoke around the gum in his mouth. At least he was friendly. "Want some gum?"

"Uh...sure, I guess." What could the harm be in accepting a piece of gum? Kaito watched as the brunet went through several pockets, searching for a piece.

"Oh, I'm all out. Looks like I just used the last piece." The boy gave him an apologetic smile as he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, sorry." With that, they returned to the awkward silence again. After a few seconds, though, the boy turned to him again. "Hey, are you also a new recruit?" He gave a little chuckle. "Even though we're joining at the same time, it seems like you're a little older," he said with a slight frown. "But I'm still your senior by a nanosecond!"

"What? Th-that's only because I got shoved to the bottom of the list because I got lost!" Kaito protested with a frown.

The boy gave a laugh at Kaito's response. "Well, my name is Kota. Kota Fujiki. What's yours?"

"Kaito..." He gave Kota a smile. "Oh, what's your nickname, Kota?" he asked curiously. "Mine's AliceBlue!"

Kota gave Kaito an almost incredulous stare. "You actually made a code name?"

"W-why are you asking that? W-was I not supposed to?" Kaito asked worriedly.

"No...but most people just use their names as their code names," Kota replied with a laugh. "You're a little weird, man."

"I...I'm sorry..." Kaito hung his head. Would nothing go right for him today? Even someone who seemed younger than him was laughing at him.

"How old are you anyways?" Kota asked him curiously.

"E-eighteen," Kaito replied, sulking slightly at the embarrassment he had already suffered.

"What? You're that much older than me? I'm only fifteen!"

"What?" Kaito turned to stare at him. "Did you just call me old-" The sound of heels clicking loudly on the floor made them both turn to stare.

A woman with wavy black hair that cascaded down one shoulder came up to them, her white shirt open to reveal much of her chest, her white pants laced up the sides, exposing a lot of bare skin. "Stand up." Both Kota and Kaito looked up at her blue eyes in confusion at the sudden command. "I said stand up!" Both boys hurriedly stood, Kota staring up at the ceiling, Kaito trying not to meet the woman's eyes with his own. He tried to lower his eyes deferentially, but it ended with him trying to avoid looking into her eyes and at her exposed skin. It wasn't that Kaito was a pervert or anything, but...he just didn't know where to look. Kaito wondered what Kota was staring at on the ceiling, wondering if he could join him in staring upwards. "My name is Tsubaki Amamiya, and from now on, I'll be your adviser," she said, holding a clipboard to her chest as she talked to them. "After your medical checkup, you'll be going through a full curriculum of basic weapon training and education on Aragami." Her face never changed expression as she continued to talk. "Up until now, we've been protecting you, but from now on, you'll be the ones doing the protecting. If you don't want to die from anything stupid, you will answer my every order with a yes, understood?" Kaito and Kota stood there in silence, wondering if they should answer, wondering if they could speak now. "If you understand, then respond!"

"Understood!" Kota replied, his eyes never leaving the ceiling.

"Y-yes, Ma'am!" Kaito answered, snapping his salute again.

Tsubaki's cold expression seemed to crack lightly as she gave what could be passed for a slight smile at their responses. However, as soon as it had come, it disappeared again. "Your medical check-ups will begin shortly. First is you," she said, pointing at Kaito. "Report to Doctor Paylor Sakaki's room at 1500 hours. Take a look around until then." Kaito nodded repeatedly, taking in everything she said and trying to memorize it. "From now on, this will be your new home, the Far East Fenrir branch. Its nickname is The Den." She looked both Kota and Kaito, who were now looking at her, in the eyes. "Make sure you pay your respects to the members of your team, especially your seniors."

"Y-yes, Ma'am!" Kaito said, saluting her again as Kota ran off to explore the Den. "Uhm...sorry to ask this, but..." Kaito gave a weak laugh. "Where exactly is this Doctor Paylor Sakaki's room...?"


	2. Chapter 2: Wolves of the Den

Hey guys! XDD  
>Here's Chapter 2!<br>S-sorry there's still no action yet, b-but...  
>Next chapter, I swear...!<br>As for this chapter, we get to meet some of the other characters and have fun with them!  
>Well...only half that sentence was true XDDD<strong><br>**And yes, they made the Den a place to torture rookies in! XD  
>As always, <strong>please Read, Review and Enjoy!<br>**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2:<strong> Wolves of the Den

Kaito looked around nervously. He had arrived at this room after Tsubaki's instruction, but he still wasn't sure if he was in the right place... He had a tendency to forget these sorts of things. "Um...excuse me!" he called, taking a deep breath as he opened the door and stepped inside.

There were two men inside, one sitting in front of several screens as he typed quickly. He had a mischievous smile on under his round glasses, and he wore what Kaito remembered from somewhere was called a "kimono". The other man stood next to the one typing and wore a long white coat. Every strand of his blond hair seemed to be perfectly in place, in stark contrast with the messy blond hair the one at the screens had. They both looked up when they heard Kaito come in.

"P-pleased to meet you! I'm Kaito, the new recruit!" Kaito said with a bow as he hoped that he had found the right place.

"Hm...you got here 726 seconds sooner than I expected," the one with glasses said with a smile. "Good to see you, New-type." He chuckled at the term he was using. "I'm Paylor Sakaki, and I'm in charge of Aragami technology R&D." Kaito fought back the urge to breathe a sigh of relief as he was finally reassured that he had found the right place. "Well, we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on, so welcome aboard, Kaito." Sakaki's welcoming smile faded slightly into an apologetic one. "Now then...as you can see...I'm still a little busy with preparations." He turned to his companion. "Johann, why don't you get your business out of the way first?"

The blond man in the white coat shook his head with a slight frown. "Doctor Sakaki, I think it's high time you learned how to separate business from private matters." For some reason, his voice sounded very familiar to Kaito... The man turned to him, putting on a business-like smile. "Thank you for taking part in the aptitude test. My name is Johannes von Shicksal," he said, introducing himself. "I'm in charge of the Fenrir branch in this region." He gave him a smile befitting the director of the branch. "Congratulations again on passing the test. I expect great things from you." It was then that Kaito realized why the voice sounded so familiar. It had been the one that had instructed him on what to do during the aptitude test, where he had gotten his God Arc. A pang of slight pain shot through Kaito's wrist through the red metal bangle at the memory. He tried to hide the pain the best he could by nodding and giving the director a strained smile.

"Th-thank you. I never expected I would be able to do something like this before," Kaito said, still holding up his polite smile. "I...I don't even know what a New-type is," he replied nervously, giving a weak laugh.

"That's alright. We don't know much about New-types yet either," Johannes replied, giving Kaito another business-like smile, but with some warmth beneath it this time. "That's why we request that you allow us to study you as you continue to grow as a God Eater."

Kaito nodded hurriedly. "O-of course! Anything you need!"

Sakaki chuckled at this exchange, adjusting his glasses slightly as he continued to type. He smirked at Kaito. "He's a former techie too, you know. Half the motive behind his being so nice to you is his curiosity!" He glanced up at Johannes' politely restrained face. "The New-types' medical check-ups interest you to no end, right, Johannes?"

"I decided to retire as a techie because we have you, Paylor," Johannes replied, a silent threat lurking beneath his ever-present calm smile. "Please keep that in mind."

"Did you ever really retire?" Sakaki asked with a chuckle, still deciding to press his luck.

With a slight scoff, Johannes turned away from Sakaki to look Kaito in the eyes. "Hmm...now then, this is where the real fun starts," he began, completely ignoring the doctor's response. "Let me explain the Fenrir Corporation's objectives once more. Your direct duties are very simple." Kaito nodded to show that he was paying attention to him. "They are to keep the Aragami in this region at bay and to gather materials, which are then converted into resources needed to maintain this advance base, as well as to complete the impending Aegis project."

"Ugh, look at these numbers!" Sakaki suddenly yelled out, sounding exasperated and excited at the same time, obviously not paying attention to Johannes' explanation.

The director paused for a second, then began again. "The Aegis project is, simply put, a plan to create a utopia impregnable against Aragami attacks, located far out to sea, close to the former Sea of Japan trench."

"Ahh...I see..." Sakaki said, nodding in understanding. But it was obviously not about the director's words. Kaito gave a worried glance at the doctor, then at the director, worried about what would happen if the doctor pushed the director's patience too far.

Clearing his throat, Johannes continued. "Once the project is complete, humankind will be able to avoid extinction, at least for a while."

"Amazing! So this is what a New-type is like!"

Annoyance obvious on the director's face, he turned to face Sakaki, his polite smile cracking slightly to show a hint of anger. "Paylor, you're interrupting my lecture."

"Oh, sorry about that." Sakaki gave an apologetic chuckle as he glanced up at Johannes' face. "I was just taken so aback by these stats, I got carried away."

Shaking his head slightly, Johannes turned back to Kaito. "At any rate, the fate of humankind is at stake, so give it your best effort." The young man nodded hurriedly, feeling the weight of the responsibility that he had been given on his shoulders. Johannes fought a smirk that threatened to come onto his face and give away all the plans he had for this easily influenced recruit. "All right. I'll be taking my leave now." He shot Sakaki a smile. "Paylor, I'll leave the rest to you. When you're done, send me the data." With that, he gave a nod to Kaito and exited the room, leaving Kaito and Sakaki alone.

Kaito stood nervously in the middle of the room which was silent except for the sounds of Sakaki typing. After a few seconds of this awkward silence, though, he finally looked up. "Okay, the preparations are complete!" He smiled at Kaito from behind his screens. "Please lie down on that bed over there," he instructed, pointing at a bed in the corner of the room. Kaito turned to look. He hadn't noticed it before because he was so distracted by Johannes and Sakaki, but he now realized just how much like a laboratory this room was.

"G-got it," Kaito said as he headed for the bed.

"You'll get sleepy for a little while," Sakaki started. "But I assure you there's nothing to worry about," he added, seeing the worried look on Kaito's face. "The next time you awaken, you'll be in your own room." He chuckled. "Just a little catnap, so to speak... You'll get about 10,800 seconds." Kaito nodded, looking up at the ceiling, feeling himself starting to drift off like Sakaki had said. He tried to tell himself to relax, that nothing bad would happen to him, that everything was alright. But Kaito found that he couldn't trust anyone so easily, especially since the reason he was here was... He tried to blink, losing his train of thought as he subconsciously fought to keep awake, but his half-closed eyes refused to open anymore, giving in to the sleepiness.

The last thing he heard before he went unconscious was Sakaki's ever-cheerful voice. "Sweet dreams!"

_Sweet dreams...at a place like Fenrir...?_

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><p>Johannes sat at his desk, watching as numbers ran by on the screen in front of his eyes. However, he was only focused on one person's profile. He went over it again and again. "AliceBlue...it can't be..." He scanned the rest of the rookie's profile again. "It must just be a coincidence... It's no use dredging up the past for just a coincidence." But it felt like he was just saying it to reassure himself. He shook his head.<p>

No. It was just a coincidence. It most definitely was.

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><p>"Nn..." Kaito rolled over in the bed, covered by blankets. Wait...in bed...? He shot up, pulling the blankets up around his chest as he looked around with wide eyes. "W-where am I...?" he asked, staring in confusion. He was on a bed in a corner of the room, a terminal tucked into another corner of the room at the end of his bed. There was a window set into the wall opposite the door. Well...at least he tried to call it a window. It was, upon closer inspection, a screen that displayed an emerald green grassy field beneath a sparkling blue sky...something that no longer existed in the real world outside. Kaito gave a soft exhalation, half a sigh, half a laugh, as a wistful smile crossed his face. "If only it were like that outside for real..."<p>

He turned his head, deciding to move on. There was a table with seats around it, just like in that other person's room. For a short moment, Kaito was afraid that he was in some random stranger's room, but he quickly realized that all the rooms were probably just set up the same way. There was a counter that ran along the wall to the left of the door with a sink and what looked like a small refrigerator built into it. A little distance away from the bed, between the bed and the door, there was the same wooden counter that had been in that other guy's room. On it sat a flowerpot with lilies that weren't quite in bloom yet. Kaito smiled upon seeing it.

"Morning, Masacchi!" he chirped cheerfully, greeting the plant like a close friend. He slid off the bed, yawning as he stretched his arms over his head. He realized he was still wearing the clothes he had been wearing before, but he had something else he had to do first. "Here you go," he said as he poured some water he had gotten from the sink into the dirt, watering the lilies. "This water is a lot cleaner than the water we used to have, huh?" He chuckled as he finished pouring the rest of the water in before setting down the cup. "I guess it's true what they say. You get all these benefits if you become one of Fenrir's operatives." He tilted his head as he noticed a blinking light from the terminal. "What?" He walked over to it curiously, wondering what it meant. Upon further inspection, he found that it was notifying him of a new mail in his in-box.

"From...Kota?" It took him a minute before he remembered: that other new recruit who had joined at the same time he had. His eyes scanned the message quickly. The message inside was one that made Kaito laugh.

'Subject: Nice to meet you!

Message: By the way, do you know when my medical checkup is? I think Ms. Tsubaki told me, but I can't remember. I want to ask her, but she seems kind of scary.'

"...well...it's already too late for me to help him," he said, fighting back giggles as he imagined Kota running around helplessly, trying to find out when his medical check-up actually was. "I hope he managed to make it on time..." He sighed, finally getting his laughs out of his system, before he turned and caught sight of his reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall opposite the door.

"Maybe I should change clothes and try to get used to getting around the Den," he said as he headed for the mirror, trying to comb his messy silver hair into place with his fingers, slipping his black and blue headphones down to rest around his neck. However, just as soon as he combed it into place, his bangs went back to nearly falling into his eyes and the rest of his hair just fell to just under his chin, random hairs sticking out. He frowned slightly as he tilted his head this way and that, his eyes, whose shapes made him look kind of like a cat, following his reflection in the sleek surface. His nose, almost delicately pointed, had caused him some trouble in the past when people had teased him for looking so feminine, but he was okay with it. His mouth twisted into random shapes as he tried to make his hair actually stay in place.

"...I think I should give up here." He caught sight of a set of clothes draped over a chair next to the terminal. "Wonder if these are for me," Kaito said, lifting the shirt up to look at it. It looked like it would fit. Humming softly, he unzipped his shirt and slipped it off, revealing pale skin and a slim body. He hadn't ever trained his muscles before, so he was very glad that becoming a God Eater made him stronger and faster than most ordinary people. He quickly changed into the other outfit, which reminded him of a military uniform. It was probably standard Fenrir clothes. "At least they got me some black clothes..." he remarked as he fixed the collar. He didn't look too bad, if he did say so himself. "Well then...time to go meet some people!"

The door slid open in front of him as he stood before it, holding the card-key in his hand contemplatively. His eyes scanned the hallway. It looked just like the floor he had gotten lost on last time, but the carpeting here was green, like the color that grass would be if it still existed. There was someone standing in the middle of the hallway, back turned to Kaito. He wore a black cap over his reddish-pink hair. The young man also wore a light green jacket and blue jean shorts, along with greenish-yellow boots. He was talking to himself. "What a puny reward. Rations are getting worse, too. God Eaters may get better pay, but it's not nearly enough to cover risking your life..." The young man sighed, but he turned at the sound of the door closing behind Kaito and Kaito's footsteps. "Oh, hey, you're new," he said, his eyes flickering up, giving the new recruit a quick once-over. "You must be that rookie that Tsubaki asked me to get," he decided as he nodded slightly. "I'm Shun. Shun Ogawa."

"I'm Kaito!" Kaito replied cheerfully as he reached out a hand to shake Shun's. However, Shun kept his arms folded over his chest, and Kaito slowly retracted his hand awkwardly.

"Anyways...Tsubaki wants you to go upstairs so she can brief you on how to do missions." Shun chuckled like he knew something that Kaito didn't. "Rookies like you have to work hard for the chance to earn rewards, you know." He turned to meet Kaito's eyes with his. "But listen, just do enough not to get killed. Without your life, you're nothing!" Kaito stared at him, slightly in shock at the sudden advice. Shun's serious face turned back into his normal smiling one. "Well...good luck, kid!" he said, waving as he left Kaito standing alone in the hallway.

"...huh?" He stared after Shun for a moment before he shook his head. "Right...well then...I should probably go talk to Tsubaki!"

"Oh...hello there..." Kaito turned at the sound of a girl's voice, and found himself looking into a pink-haired girl's kindly face. She smiled at him, her springtime-like green dress brightening her cheerfulness. "So you're the rookie! They said we'd be getting two new kids..." She reached out a hand to shake. "I'm Kanon Daiba!"

Kaito took her hand and shook it, glad that someone else was friendly towards him. "I'm Kaito. Pleased to meet you!"

Kanon smiled at the politeness of the greeting. "Are you all done with the medical check-ups?" she asked with a girlish giggle as Kaito nodded. "Used to the Den yet?"

Kaito shook his head. He most definitely was not. "Not at all...I just got here."

She nodded knowingly. "I understand. To tell you the truth, neither am I. And I keep getting lost...and it's been quite a while for me already! But my instructor's always yelling, saying I'm stuck in rookie mode."

"You get lost a lot too? On my first day, I couldn't even find the testing room!" Kaito replied, warming up at the thought of a kindred spirit. "Th-there must be something strange with the Den, like...like maybe every time you turn around, everything switches places or something!"

"But that would be expensive!" Kanon answered, eyes wide. "And what purpose would it even serve?"

"I...I don't know! Maybe they like torturing rookies!" Kaito concluded loudly.

"...move."

"Huh?" Kaito turned at the sound of a low voice from behind him.

"I said, move. You're in the way," said the young man whose room Kaito had walked into on the first day he had come to the Den. "If you have time to stand around and chatter about getting lost because of stupid reasons, you're just wasting my time," he growled as he strode past them, heading for the elevator.

"Wha-?" Kaito stared after the hooded stranger as the elevator doors closed behind him. "Kanon...who's that?" he asked curiously. He couldn't keep referring to him as "that guy" in his mind anymore, right? But that wasn't the only reason he wanted to know his name.

"Him? He's Soma. He's been a God Eater for a really long time, but he's never been promoted because they say that he's too much of the lone wolf type."

"Soma. So that's his name," Kaito repeated in a soft whisper as he kept his eyes focused on the doors of the elevator that Soma had disappeared behind. "...Soma..."

* * *

><p>Kaito wandered around on the top floor of the Den, right by the entrance. Luckily, Kanon had known the way, so he hadn't gotten lost. However, he had looked around everywhere, and it appeared that Soma was no longer there at the entrance. He had probably left on a mission...<p>

He easily found Tsubaki, though. She stood out because of her commander's aura. She looked up from her clipboard when she saw Kaito coming towards her. Tsubaki was standing right by the quest counter. "I see you're done with your check-up..." she remarked as he approached. Kaito nodded as he came to stand in front of her. "Fine. Then I'll have you take on a mission right away. Next to you is Hibari Takeda," she said as she pointed at the cute girl behind the counter. Hibari bowed to him politely and Kaito gave her a slight bow in return. "She runs the God Eaters' mission information processing. Speak to her in order to receive an order for a mission. After that, use the terminal to prepare yourself before you leave. Got that?"

"Y-yes, ma'am!" Kaito replied, giving her a salute as he tried to commit everything he had just heard to memory.

"Very good. I'm expecting a lot from you!" Tsubaki said before she left Kaito to speak to Hibari about what came next.

"So you're done with your medical check-up!" Hibari said brightly. "Again, I'm Hibari Takeda, and I oversee mission orders!" After she shot Kaito a quick smile, she put on her professional face. "Now then, let me explain to you about how missions work. First, you receive an order for a mission. Then, based on enemy intelligence, you should change your weapons at the terminals." Kaito nodded again and again, afraid to interrupt her, afraid to miss a detail that could be important later. "Then you should launch your mission by gathering at the Den Gate before heading out." She paused, catching the lost expression Kaito was trying to hide. "Um...do you follow me?"

After a few seconds of silence to process everything that he had been told, Kaito nodded. "Yes, I understand."

Hibari gave a relieved smile. "Oh, that's good! I may cause you some inconvenience at times, but I do look forward to working with you!"

Kaito smiled back at her, half in response to her smile, half in response to her change back to her normal attitude. "Thank you! I'll be relying on you a lot in the future..."

"Hey, you a rookie?" Kaito paused as he was just about to go up the stairs. He turned in the direction the voice had come from and he found himself looking down at a man sitting cross-legged on a blanket in strange clothes, random items strewn around him. He nodded slowly in response to the question. The man chuckled and gave him a broad grin. "You're gonna need more than rations and rewards to take on the Aragami. Just listen to me...replenish your supplies right here!" The man paused. "...I think my prices are pretty damn good."

Kaito gave a weak laugh. "M-maybe later..." he replied as he waved to the merchant. Not only did he not have any money, but he was slightly unnerved by the suddenness of the man's self-advertisement. Heading up the stairs, he caught sight of a man with many scars covering his body, his once-black hair now streaked with white.

"Hey, there you are. You look a little more mature now, rookie!" the man called as he neared Kaito, slapping him on the back playfully with a huge grin.

Kaito stared up at him with wide eyes, wondering who he was and why he was being so friendly with him all of a sudden. "W-who are you?" he asked, terrified as he backed away from the man slowly.

The man stared at Kaito for a second with confused eyes, but then realization dawned on him. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Gen Momota, Fenrir Far East Branch's God Eater Advisor. I used to be a God Eater, just like you guys though." He gave Kaito a huge grin. "So I know when a rookie walks by! I saw you wandering around lost before." Kaito stared at Gen, who was laughing boisterously, wondering why the man hadn't helped him if he had seen a rookie wandering around, lost if he was the God Eater Advisor for the branch... "Anyways..." Gen finally stopped laughing and put on a serious face. "Being a God Eater is a tough business. We're despised by some, envied by others." He gave a chuckle. "Even so, we're protecting those same people." His serious face persisted for a moment more before it broke into a smile again. "Heh, but that's just an old God Eater rambling." He started to laugh loudly again. "When you're old enough, I'll buy you a drink!"

"U-uh...n-no thank you...sir..." Kaito replied uneasily, trying to edge away from the man that he was sure wasn't quite right in the head...

"Oh, wait!" Gen called as he grabbed Kaito's arm. "Don't forget to say hello to Licca there!" He pointed at a silver-haired girl in a tanktop and puffy shorts with heavy work gloves and thick boots. She was adjusting her goggles as she stood by the terminals. "That girl is fighting right alongside you God Eaters. Don't you forget that." Kaito nodded hurriedly before Gen could launch into another tirade.

Finally, after managing to somehow politely get away from Gen, Kaito headed for Licca. He had a feeling he would forget if he didn't greet her now. "Hello! I'm Kaito!" he greeted cheerfully, waving.

Licca turned at his greeting and gave him a quick once-over, glancing up and down. "Oh, you were the one Tsubaki was looking for before, right?" She gave a little chuckle. "She said that if I met someone new who was wandering around looking they were lost, that it would be you. She was right!"

"U-uh...B-but I'm not lost this time..." Kaito weakly protested.

"But anyways, I'm Licca Kusunoki." She reached out a work-glove covered hand. "Nice to meet you!" Kaito took her hand and shook it. "I'll do my best to keep your God Arc in top shape to make sure you have no trouble in battle." She smiled pleasantly at Kaito, and he could see why Gen had told him to greet her. "Hey, when you have some free time, let's go to lunch. Later!"

"Later!" Kaito replied before he headed down to talk with Tsubaki about his mission.

* * *

><p>Kaito sighed as he flopped down next to Kota. "Tsubaki wants me to go on a mission already..." He rested his head on the top of the seat, stretching his legs out under the table by the Den's gate.<p>

"A mission so soon, huh...?" Kota sighed. "The people here are kinda rough, don't you think?"

"Yeah...I bet they have to be tough though, since they fight every day for their lives," Kaito replied, still staring up at the ceiling on the Den.

"Hm...I guess so," Kota agreed thoughtfully. "Ah! They'd better not haze rookies! That would suck!" he cried, the thought suddenly popping into his mind.

"I-if they wanted to haze us, wouldn't they have done it already...?" Kaito asked worriedly. "Anyways...I think Tsubaki'd kill whoever hazed people and made them unable to go out on missions...maybe."

"Yeah...good point." Kota nodded several times, feeling reassured by that thought. "Oh, speaking of missions... We file for missions with that cute operator girl, right?" he asked with a grin. "Then we leave by the Den Gate and head into actual combat..." Kota gave an involuntary exaggerated shudder. "...yeah...I think I'll wait to head over till I'm mentally prepared!" He shot a thumbs up at Kaito. "Have fun on your mission!"

"Oh, yeah, _thanks_, Kota..." Kaito replied flatly as he got up, sighing. "Time for me to get to my mission, I guess..."


End file.
